Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

North Naples church battered by Irma but still sends volunteers out to aid others

At St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in North Naples, Hurricane Irma blew off the front corner of the church, tore at shingles on the building’s ridge cap and downed about two dozen large trees in the courtyard.

Power wasn't restored at the complex until Friday, and the cleanup is ongoing.

But that hasn’t stopped a team of more than 20 church members from making the place a hub for donations and other volunteer efforts, supporting some of the storm’s hardest-hit places in low-income areas of Collier County.

Since Monday, crews have stacked non-perishable food and water three to four pallets high and shipped them to storm-relief centers in Immokalee and East Naples.

The volunteers work 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., delivering two truckloads each day.

The effort is overseen by Jean-Paul Boucher, 41, the church’s general manager, who gained experience in crisis management in a former job with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“People have just been bringing stuff all day every day,” Boucher said.

He said the church also is collecting other supplies, such as clothing, bedding and toiletries. There’s a large need for diapers and baby wipes, he said.

Guadalupe Social Services in Immokalee said it had run out of water Thursday to distribute to the community, where almost half live below the poverty level. So the church, with a congregation of 3,500 families, filled its large supply truck, almost as big as a semi-trailer, with water and made a late-afternoon run. The group also delivered 100 meals from Operation BBQ, a volunteer group donating hot food.

“It is extraordinary that we have such an amazing group of volunteers,” Boucher said.

To donate, take supplies to the church at 625 11th Ave. N. You can call the church at 239-566-8740.

Donated supplies sit in the lobby of Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church in North Naples on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017. The church has become a hub for local volunteer efforts and donations.(Photo: Nicole Raucheisen/Naples Daily News)